The Skyhold School
by LunaSpockLocked
Summary: A school has been formed at Skyhold for the children of the refugees. Practically none of the Inquisition members want to get involved, but they all will probably have to.
1. Chapter 1

The Skyhold Academy

"Children!" yelled Cassandra, storming into Josephine's office. "There are _children_ at Skyhold."

"Oh, my apologies! I neglected to tell you." Josie looked up from her work abashedly. "We have received many refugee families over the past few weeks. Hinterlands refugees, victims of the civil war, people from the alienages and slums. Their children all seem quite sweet."

"Sweet?" cried Cassandra. "I was just practising when three of them ran past me. I could have killed them. And rather than apologizing for their mistake, they dubbed me"Eyeball" and sprinted away.

Josephine sighed. "They are rather rambunctious, I am afraid."

Cassandra scowled. "I think that 'incorrigible' would be a more suitable term."

Leliana quietly strolled in, smiling slightly. "Do you not like children , Cassandra?"

Cassandra sighed. "I do not mind well-behaved ones. But these seem more like a group of apostates than the children of Inquisition members.

Josephine nodded. "You have not been the only one to raise concerns, but I am afraid that I am at a loss as to what to do about the issue."

"We could start a school." said Leliana, thoughtfully. "It would not be an academy in Minrathous, but it would at least keep the children occupied."

Josephine nodded. "Mother Giselle has asked to be provided with some new duties. Perhaps she could teach the classes."

"Actually, It would be helpful for the children to know some fighting skills." observed Cassandra. "In the case of another attack,we do not want them to be defenceless. "

"An excellent idea!" Josephine cried. "And it would look most favourably upon the Inquisition if our children were to be well-educated."

"It's settled then." replied Leliana. "As long as Cullen is in agreement, we will start-"

Just then, they heard a terrible shriek on the battlements. The three women all rushed out to see what had occurred, only to find a distraught Cullen sitting with his head in his hands.

Seeing them, Cullen stood up quickly. He attempted to look as stern as possible.

"Some of those children have stolen some..um...important military supplies. It is vital that they are returned immediately."

"Relax, Cullen." said Leliana. "I am sure that the soldiers will find them."

Just then, a scout raced up to Cullen, a strange bottle in his hand.

"Sir!" he shouted. "We have recovered the artifact the children took."

"Good work, soldier." said Cullen,taking the bottle hurriedly.

Cassandra looked confused. "Is that...hair product?"

"No!" said Cullen, a bit too quickly. "It is a rare weapons product, used for the trebuchets. I should..I should go inspect them now."

"Wait!" cried Josephine. "How would you feel about establishing an Inquisition school?"

Cullen nodded stiffly. "Ah, that sounds like a excellent idea. It would certainly get the children out of our hair, er, out of ourway. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

Cullen then quickly walked away, clutching the bottle to his chest.

Josephine smiled. "Well, then, I will talk to Mother Giselle at once."

Leliana grinned deviously. "Perhaps she could get Cullen to give some tips on haircare.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The First Day

A motley collection of elf, dwarf, and human children strolled into the schoolroom a week later.

At the front of the room, a chantry mother smiled benignly.

"Good morning, children." she said calmly. "My name is Mother Giselle, and I will be your teacher for this year."

"A Chantry lady?" cried one older elven student. "I didn't come here to hear stupid Andrastian propaganda."

Mother Giselle nodded gravely. "I am not here to convert you, Ophelia. I am here to teach, not to minister."

Ophelia shrugged, and Mother Giselle continued.

"This year, we will be mainly covering the subjects of reading, writing, mathematics, history, geography, visual art, and physical education."

"I hate gym!" screamed Waldo. "In my last gym class, we were running near a Circle, and then templars came and beat me up."

"My dad used to be a templar!" cried another student. "He's not a bad guy! It's the Orlesians who are bad!"

The room erupted into a commotion, with kids variously accusing eachother of being mage sympathizers, stupid Orlesians, shems, demons, and cheese-haters.

"Stop!" yelled Mother Giselle. "I know you are all from different places, but you are a part of the Inquisition now. I expect you all to treat each other with respect."

The kids grumbled, but settled down.

"Good." sighed Mother Giselle. "Now, I am going to take attendance. Say 'here' when you hear your name."

Mother Giselle took out a scroll, and began to read.

"Ophelia."

"Here."

"Alexandra."

"Present!"

"Nico."

"Hello."

"Er, Bethesda?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly, she frowned.

" Lord Trifles? I do not believe that you are eligible to study here."

"Indeed!" cried Lord Trifles, immediately standing up at the back of the room. "I merely wish to quiz your students, to see if they can join the Quizuisition!"

Mother Giselle frowned. "I'm sorry Lord Trifles, but we have not yet started teaching-"

"What" exclaimed Lord Trifles; "Is the name of the herbalist at Skyhold?

Dozens of students cried out random answers. One child,Rhen, said "Elan Ve'Mal?" quite timidly.

"Correct!" shouted Lord Trifles. "You are now one step close to achieving the boon-the Boon of the Spoon."

Lord Trifles immediately disappeared, and half of the class ran outside to see where he had gone.

Mother Giselle put her head in her hands.

This was going to be a very long Inquisition.

Lord Trifles interactions found at: watch?v=RG6IQra8Bx4


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Career Day

It had been a month since the school had started, and Mother Giselle was feeling significantly more confident. The students had quieted down, and most were doing their lessons. They were doing so well, in fact, that Mother Giselle had decided that they deserved a treat.

"Good morning, class." said Giselle, on one particular Friday. "Today, we are lucky enough to have a foremost member of the Inquisition coming to speak to us!"

The children chattered excitedly.

"Please welcome Solas."

Solas entered, wearing a somewhat awkward smile. He did not particularly want to be here, but he also did not wish to invite the wrath of Josephine.

"Hello, Mr. Solas!" chanted the kids.

The elf smiled. "Solas will be fine." he said kindly.

Mother Giselle nodded sagely. "Could you discuss how you came to the Inquisition?"

Solas nodded. "Certainly. Once I became aware of what had happened with the Conclave, I decided to come and see if my skills would prove helpful in finding a way to close it. I studied the Inquisitor while she was unconscious, and have been assisting the Inquisition since that time."

A little elf named Rhen put her hand up excitedly.

'Yes?" said Solas.

"You don't have vallaslin. Are you a city elf, too?"

Solas frowned. "No,I am neither Dalish nor a city elf. I come from a far-away village, to the north."

Rhen looked confused. "Wait, you're from Tevinter?"

Solas shook his head. "Not exactly-"

Angelus laughed. "I told you, he's a Qunari."

Solas looked livid. "Absolutely NOT-."

Bethesda snorted. "Nah. The Qun doesn't accept egg men."

Solas looked about ready to strangle someone, so Mother Giselle interjected worriedly. "Perhaps we could all save our questions for the end. Solas, I understand that you are something of an expert on the Fade?"

Solas sighed. "I suppose that is correct."

"Could you tell the children about your research?"

Solas nodded. "The Fade is the realm of spirits and demons, which elves and dwarves visit when we sleep. However, only mages truly remember their visits to the Fade, and only people like me can change it slightly "

An older girl, Rosetta, looked impressed. "That sounds cool."

Solas smiled. "Thank you. I have made it my life's work to dream in ruins, to use the Fade to see the stories they hold."

Nico looked impressed. "Where have you dreamed?"

"Many places. Ostagar, the Korcari Wilds, Adamant, The Emerald Graves."

Rhen looked excited again. "Have you been to Arlathan?"

"No, I am afraid not." Solas replied, disapprovingly. "It would be unwise for anyone to go there."

Rhen seemed disappointed. "That's too bad. I always wanted to know what the Elven Gods were like."

A refugee child, Minho, frowned. "I thought that the city elves don't care about Elven religion."

Rhen shrugged. "We do, kinda. Just not, like, obsessively or anything."

Minho looked up at Solas curiously. "Do you believe in the elven gods?"

Solas thought about this for a moment. "I do believe, yes, but not in the way that others do." ,

Another elf, Ophelia, decided to interrupt.

"What about your wolf bone? Is that a reference to Fen'Harel?"

Solas looked startled. "No, it is merely for decorative purposes."

Rhen looked relieved. "That's good! My mommy always says that Fen'Harel was a jerk, and that he shouldn't be worshipped.

Solas scowled. "You don't say."

Angelus chortled. "Yeah, some of our Paragons were shit, but that guy really takes the cake. Locking away all of the elven gods? What a dick move."

Mother Giselle looked shocked. "Angelus, apologize for your language immediately!"

Angelus started to argue with the Revered Mother, and Solas took the opportunity to quietly leave the classroom.

He made a mental note to never talk to children ever again.

Information on the Fade was found at:

r/dragonage/comments/35qtdn/spoilers_all_questions_about_the_fade_dreaming/


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Interviews

"Now, does everyone understand why our treatment of Solas was disrespectful?"

"Yes, Mother Giselle." The children all looked rather irritated, but this seemed to placate Mother Giselle.

"Good. However, it is not enough to simply say that you have learned something. You need to show me that you have understood this lesson."

Mother Giselle started to hand out papers.

" I would like you all to get into groups, and then go interview two members of the Inquisition. You will be asking them questions about their occupations, which are detailed on this sheet. I expect you all to be courteous."

The children all scrambled to get into groups, desperate to be with their friends. At the front, Rhen, Rosetta, and Nico all shuffled together. They were not exactly close, but they all got along well enough.

"I want to interview Frederic!" said Rhen, already excited.

Nico scoffed. "That idiot? He told the Inquisition to go bait a dragon for him. He could have gotten the whole party killed!"

Rosetta shrugged. "I say we go interview the bartender. He won't waste our time with tangents."

Neither Rhen or Nico had any better ideas, so they quickly went over to the tavern. To their dismay, however, Ophelia and Minho were already talking to the man behind the counter. In fact, it seemed like everyone in the tavern was already in conversation with a student. The only person left was a large Qunari, who was quietly sipping a beer in the corner.

"I don't want to spend all day wandering around." sighed Rosetta. "Let's just go talk to that guy."

The trio wandered over, trying to look as casual as possible.

"Um." said Rhen. "Um, would you be willing to answer some questions for us? For an assignment?"

Bull shrugged. "Sure. It's not as if I have anything else to do."

Rhen smiled. "Awesome! Ok, first of all, what's your name, and your job here?"

"Iron Bull." he said , pausing for dramatic effect. " _The_ Iron Bull. I'm the Captain of the Bull's Chargers mercenary company, on contract to the Inquisition until-well, further notice."

He chuckled,and Rhen wrote down his answers furiously.

Rosetta raised an eyebrow. "I've heard about you lot. What do you do, besides draining that alcohol stores?"

Bull smiled. "Mostly, I smash things. But occasionally I'll branch out to punching or slashing, mostly."

Rosetta raised an eyebrow, but gestured for Rhen to read the second question.

"What are your favourite and least favourite parts of your job?"

Bull took a drink, considering. "My favourite? Dragons. Least favourite? Demons." He took a sip. "Or maybe Krem."

Krem looked over quickly. " The Chief's just upset that I don't have nightmares about tiny fade spirits."

Iron Bull scowled. "Well, some of us didn't grow up in an archdemon's hometown."

To Nico's astonishment, he then finished his entire cup of alcohol, and began to pour more.

"How do you drink all that?"Nico exclaimed. "My dad gave me some Gray Warden ale once, and I could barely stand the stuff."

Bull shrugged. "Let's just say that I have lots of practice."

Nico suddenly determined, strolled up to the bartender.

"I want whatever Bull's having, please." he said, slightly nervously.

Rosetta rolled her eyes.

"Nico, stop being stupid. You can't drink that."

Evern Bull looked concerned. 

"I appreciate the effort, but this stuff's not for kids. Even the Inquisitor couldn't really drink it.

Ignoring them, Nico came back with a drink. He took one sip, and smiled.

"Hey, this stuff's not bad!" he grinned. The, an idea seemed to come to him.

" Hey, Bull, I bet I could drink more of this than you."

Iron Bull raised an eyebrow. " You do know that I outdrunk the Comte de Vin?"

Rosetta looked incredulous. " We don't have time for this, Nico. We still have to finish our interviews."

Nico ignored her. "I bet you five gold, Bull."

Bull smiled slightly. "You're on."

The Chargers cheered, and brought them more drinks

Rhen looked worried. "Wait! We still have one more question!."

Bull looked down at her ,sympathetically.

"If you want, you can go talk to Dorian. He's the one in the library with the him Bull sent you."

Rosetta grabbed Rhen by the arm, and marched out in a huff.

"I'm not letting that dumb Nico mess up my mark. Let's go talk to this Dorian guy, and then hopefully we can come back and finish this interview later."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Interviews, Part 2

The duo passed by a very agitated-looking Solas, and eventually found the man Bull had been speaking of.

"Hey." said Rosetta. "Are you Dorian?"

Dorian looked at her questioningly. "That depends." he said. "Have you come to deliver reading material, or are you here to ask irritating questions about magisters?"

"Neither." said Rosetta, matter-of factly. "We're students at the Skyhold School, and we're supposed to be asking questions about Inquisition members' jobs."

Dorian nodded. 'Ah. In that case, I'm afraid that I can't help you.I'm rather busy researching at the moment."

"Wait!" cried Rhen. "Bull sent us-we were talking to him, but then he got in a drinking contest."

Dorian's face softened. He does have a propensity to do that." He sighed, and put down a his book.

"These Chantry novels are rather irritating. I suppose that I can answer a few queries."

Rhen nodded.. "Awesome! Can you say your name, and what you do here?"

Dorian smiled slightly. "I am Dorian, of House Pavus. My chief role is to act as the most dashing member of the Inquisition."

Rosetta frowned. "That's not a job, that's just you bragging."

Dorian looked insulted. "It may not be my official title, but that is my effective position."

Rosetta glared at him, and Dorian sighed.

"I am a mage who travels around with the Inquisitor, killing any miscreants who are unfortunate enough to cross our path. Is that a proper title?"

Rosetta shrugged, and Rhen continued.

"What are your favourite and least favourite parts of your job?"

Dorian tilted his head to the side.

"Who made these inane questions?" he asked, incredulous.

"Mother Giselle." replied Rhen.

"Well, that would explains it." Dorian shook his head. "Is that abominable women your teacher?"

"She's not bad, really." explained Rosetta. "She just goes on and on about 'having integrity' and 'setting an example.' It's rather irritating."

Dorian shook his head. "How utterly backwards of her."

Rhen looked up at him, pencil in hand. "Are you going to answer the next question, Mr. Pavus?"

Dorian seemed startled. "Oh, my apologies. Just write that I enjoy the opportunities for gambling and mindless murder, and . I'm sure Mother Giselle will be pleased with that."

Rhen nodded, and wrote it down. 'And your least favourite?"

"That would have to be Southerners' apparent inability to comprehend the idea that not every Tevinter is a megalomaniacal blood mage."

Dorian looked expectant. "Is there anything else?"

Rhen leafed through her pages. "Uh, we're supposed to get an interesting fact about you, though. To, like, start off the presentation."

Dorian chuckled. "Say that the King of Nevarra complimented my command of magic."

Rosetta looked skeptical. "Did heeally?"

Dorian shook his head. "Certainly not, but I doubt anyone will bother to disprove it."

Rhen finished writing, and then grinned

"Thanks a lot!"

Dorian laughed. "It was my pleasure. You seem like charming children, despite being under the influence of Mother Giselle."

Rosetta began to usher Rhen out.

"Come on We need to go back to get an unusual fact from Bull."

"Wait!" cried Dorian. "Just tell the class that he owns a pair of plaideweave pants."

Rosetta shook her head. "Nah. Not even Alexandria is going to fall for that one."

Dorian smiled evilly. "Oh, don't worry. I can provide eyewitnesses."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Interviews

A/N: Thank you for all of the kind reviews, favorites, and follows! I think that this story will have around ten chapters once it's complete.

Josephine paced around her office, obviously furious. Behind her, Dorian and The Iron Bull each pretended to be admiring the fireplace.

"I cannot believe this." she yelled, glaring at each of them in turn. "Dorian, am I to believe that you told the children to insult Bull's fashion in front of their peers?"

Dorian considered this for a moment.

"Well, I suppose you say that. Although, to be fair, I didn't _explicitly_ instruct-"

Interrupting him, Josephine wheeled around to face the Qunari.

"And rather than just ignoring such amateur provocations, you thought it acceptable to pay Sera to paint the entire school in plaideweave colours?"

"Er-well-yes." replied Bull, who looked to be suppressing a grin.

Josephine sat down in frustration.

"Gentlemen, I don't think that you understand the gravity of your actions today. Lord Adalbert, one of the most prominent lords in Ferelden, was preparing to give us a significant financial contribution today. However, he has a noted aversion to plaideweave, and rescinded his donation upon seeing the state of our school."

"There's lots of rich losers, though, right?"

They all turned to see Sera, who had just strode into the room.

"I'm sure Lord Addled has some loaded cousins or something."

Josephine looked as though she was about to explode when one of Cullen's messengers knocked on the door.

"The Commander has asked me to inform you that Mother Giselle will be taking a, ah, a leave of absence following the trauma of the plaideweave incident. The Commander has put up flyers in the pub and on the stairs advertising the position."

"Flyers?" cried the ambassador, jumping up from her chair. "We cannot simply enlist anyone to teach the children. Tell the Commander that he must take the sheets down immediately."

The messenger began to look rather fearful.

"Er, I'll tell him, Ambassador. But,well, there is already a long line of applicants here outside your office. I believe the flyers said to come to you for an interview."

Sera shrugged.

"Yeah, I was trying to tell you, but you were too busy yelling to listen."

Josephine stood there in disbelief for a moment, but then seemed to regain her usual poise.

"Very well.I will hear these applicants, but please request the Commander to leave matters of personnel to me in the future."

The messenger nodded, and hastened away. Sensing her irritation, Dorian, Bull, and Sera all ran out as well, muttering about 'Inquisitorial obligations' and 'not interfering with the interviews.'

Josephine put a chair in front of her desk, and then called for the first interviewee.A young man wearing a broad hat shuffled inside, appearing somewhat nervous.

"Cole?" asked Josephine, flummoxed.

Cole nodded timidly.

"I heard you needed a teacher, and I wanted to help."

Josephine gave a rather forced smile..

"Of course. Please, Cole, sit."

Cole took a chair, and Josephine readied her quill.

" Do you have any experience teaching, Cole? Have you ever taken care of children?"

"I helped a servant boy once. He was ill-nights spent twisting and screaming, begging for it to be over, pleading with someone to give him peace, so I took a dagger-

"Very good." cut in Josephine, already looking rather disconcerted.

"Now, what sort of lessons do you think you would assign?"

Cole brightened.

"Most of the time, the children at the school are happy. Except, sometimes, they have to look at thick books; filled with numbers and symbols they cannot understand. Text and type swirling around, a dance that only a master could complete. I would start by burning those."

"You would..you would burn textbooks?"

Josephine looked very pale, but Cole was intrigued.

"Textbooks? Is that what they're called? I think that Rhys said something about textbooks oncet."

Josephine sighed.

"Thank you, Cole. I will let you know if you get the position. Now, perhaps you could go see if The Inquisitor needs any assistance?"

Cole nodded, and hastened out.

After him, Josephine listened to about fifteen inexperienced refugees, two former criminals, at least five spies from various world power, and one man who would only discuss cheese.

She was about to call it a day when a tall woman strolled in, wearing a fur coat and a hat almost identical to Cole's.

"Hello." said Josephine warily. "Are you here to apply for the teaching position?"

"Absolutely!" replied the woman. "My name's Ser- Ser Fancifa Daft. I'm from the University of Orlesians."

Josephine frowned. "Surely, you mean the University of Orlais?"

"No." affirmed the woman. "The University of Orlesians. It's a right secret sort of place-they only tell you about it when they let you in."

Josephine frowned. " , why do you want to take this position?"

"Simple, right?" shrugged the woman "Kids need to be taught, and I'm qualified to teach them. Want to help the next generation and all that.

Josephine smiled suddenly.

"Miss Daft, I see that you still haven't removed your coat. Would you like to do so?"

The woman looked a little anxious

"Er, no, actually. I have this condition, right,Hyper- Hyperthermiosis, I need this jacket to control it."

Josephine stood up and wrenched the jacket off of the supposed Miss Daft. There stood Sera, sitting on the shoulders of an obviously confused Sullivan.

"Was that alright, Miss Montilyet?" inquired Sullivan. "Sera said that this was a vital job for the Inquisition. I'll admit, I'm not sure why it was important, but I was happy to assist."

Sera grinned. "You did great, Sully. Cole didn't even recognize us when I demanded to 'requisition' his hat."

Josephine rolled her eyes.

"You did fine, Sullivan. It's Sera that-"

However, Sera had already run off, chortling and dragging one of Josephine's inkwells with her.

Josephine closed her eyes in frustration.

"You may go, Sullivan. Please send the next applicant in."

Sullivan wandered out. The door opened, and Josephine heard a familiar voice.

"Having staffing problems, Ruffles?"

Josephine looked up.

"Varric?" she responded, quizzical. "What are you doing here?"

Varric shrugged. "Well, I figured I could try my hand at teaching. I am a world-famous author, after all."

Josephine's eyes narrowed.

"Aren't you quite preoccupied with helping the Inquisitor?"

Varric pretended to look affronted

"So suspicious! Can't I want to do something charitable without my motives being questioned?"

Josephine glared at Varric, and he sighed.

"Look, I want to avoid going to the Hissing Wastes, alright? All those caves give me the creeps."

Josephine, looking rather defeated, handed Varric some papers.

"I don't have the luxury of being particular in this situation, I suppose. You can begin tomorrow."

Varric grinned.

"Don't worry, Ruffles, it'll be fine. It's not like this can be harder than looking after Hawke."

Varric left with the papers, and Josephine watched him go disconsolately.

At least she hadn't had to hire Sera.


End file.
